In Tennessee, Great Smokey Mountains National Park harbors a one-way road in bucolic Cades Cove. Its 11-mile paved loop is loaded with scenery, historical sites, and wildlife. But we’d heard about the cove’s famed car jams due to around two million annual visitors: lines of vehicles inching slowly along the road and parking lot congestion that prevented stopping at sites. Clearly, the car approach did not appeal to my sister or me!

Death Valley National Park covers much more acreage than just the valley itself. It’s the largest U.S. national park outside of Alaska at 3,422,024 acres. With a park that size, you probably aren’t going to see everything you want in the space of a day or a week, for that matter. But you can still see and do plenty, even if you have no more than three days.

Last year the National Parks Traveler debuted its Essential RVing Guide To The National Parks in eBook and PDF formats. Soon you'll be able to download an app of the guide to your phone.

What better way to spend a summer vacation than floating down a wild river? Whether in a canoe down the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, a day-trip down Montana’s Flathead River, or a multi-week adventure deep in the Grand Canyon, it’s time to plan your trip.